Randy's Nagging Question

Hello everyone.....can’t even begin to tell yall how great it is to have a spot to hear some real life folks to converse with about our shared "battery operated aliens". Sometimes I just look at my chest and say "good morning Master, don’t fail me now"...lol.

Just seems like there are days when the chest area just "hurts" for no good reason. I am on my second PM and the first one never hurt every day like this one.  I have told several heart doc’s about this and they give me a lot of looks without actually calling me a "wus". I hear and read stories about everyone running, and exercising, and being real active, but when I try these things my PM area will hurt very badly for days and days.

I swear mine was installed on a bed of nerves.

5 Comments

Can you describe the pain?

by COBradyBunch - 2009-07-10 03:07:56

I am currently in an ongoing investigation with my doc as to why I have been having a lot of pain around my collar bone, up the left side of my neck (left side implant), over the device itself and radiating out towards my left shoulder. Pain started about 2 weeks after the implant and so far the doc has been unable to explain the pain or find an effective treatment for it (although killer anti-inflams are helping, but they are short term unless I want to end up with a fried stomach). My pain is sharp, like someone puts a fishhook into the skin and pulls on it. My skin also feels 'raw' like it was sunburned or someone ripped athletic tape off of it recently. Awaiting results of an unltrasound of the area from today but was wondering if this is the kind of discomfort you are feeling, Mine gets so bad it is truly debilitating making it difficult to work or sleep without meds.

Pain...

by turboz24 - 2009-07-10 10:07:17

I still have pain issues associated with my implant. Some pain is going to be normal, because afterall it doesn't belong there, it's a foreign object that your body will always see as a foreign object.

Now, how severe the pain is is different. I get the occassional stabbing pain, or pain that lasts for upto 30 minutes, but usually subsides. I would say that my discomfort is enough to always know that it's there, but not so much that I can just ignore it.

something's up

by Tracey_E - 2009-07-10 10:07:42

It's possible it is hitting a nerve, though it's odd that the first one was ok because they generally use the same pocket for the second one. If it's bad enough to keep you from normal activities, you may want to ask them about repositioning it. At the very least, keep looking until you find a doctor that takes you seriously and is willing to figure out what's going on. Sometimes it helps to be very specific- for three days after playing tennis for one hour, the pain is a 5 on a scale of 1 to 10.

Similar Troubles

by familyliving - 2009-07-10 12:07:32

I have the same issue at times when I exercise, move around a lot, or lay wrong. I did some "scientific studies" and wrote down when it would hurt and how long before the comfort finally returned. The doctor told me I was spot on with my findings. He said the "box" is placed inbetween the muscle on your chest. Therefore when you exercise or move a lot your muscles expand and contract more over the box. This causes the discomfort and the trouble from that end. I have found that consistency helps remove the discomfort. If you're going to exercise, which I need to do more of, you must do it daily rather than every other day, so that your muscle movements get use to working outside of their normal range.

Dealing with the doc

by ElectricFrank - 2009-07-11 12:07:46

Next time they "give me a lot of looks without actually calling me a "wus"", try my approach. I look back at them like "where do I find someone competent in this place?" Then I let them know I'm not leaving the examining room until I get some answers.

Actually, once I got this sort of thing settled several years ago they treat me quite well.

frank

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You have a maintenance schedule just like your car.

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